


Behind Steel Bars

by BigBadLittleRed



Category: Castle Rock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Biblical References, Dennis goes to prison, M/M, Murder, Pre-Slash, Prison, Threats of Rape/Non-Con
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-06-23 18:53:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15612720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BigBadLittleRed/pseuds/BigBadLittleRed
Summary: After the massacre at Shawshank, Dennis Zalewski is sent to prison to await trial. There, he rooms with the boy he had discovered in a cage not long ago.





	1. Trapped

He walks in a trance-like state, legs like anchors and head full of cotton as he shuffles through the aisles he walked before it all. Dennis can’t say he remembers much of the incident, it was a bit of a blur of noise and images. He can remember a lot of blood, the echoes of gunshots in a small contained space. He had killed quite a few of the guards, and though he hadn’t said it, he felt he still hadn’t done enough.

 

His wife had come to visit him when he was being processed, back at the county lock-up. She had yelled at him, asked him why he did it, how he could do it at all. He hadn’t been able to answer her, he found that the pure clarity he felt just before he grabbed the gun was gone. Just thinking about the way she pulled off her ring and told him it was over, that he’d never see his baby, makes him stop in place. His heavy legs sticking to the floor and his body swaying.

 

“Get moving, murderer.” A guard knocks him hard in the back with his elbow, he staggers slightly and starts to move again. The prisoners are especially rowdy as he’s led up the stairs, all of them recognizing a guard in prison clothes a mile away. He wouldn’t last a fucking day in this place, if the inmates didn’t kill him the guards sure as hell would.

 

“Only cell not double booked, guess you’ll have to stay with the freak.” Another guard tells him, pulling open the cell door with a shrill squeal of metal. The cell inside is dimly lit, but he can plainly see the young man he had found in the hole sitting on the floor wedged between the bed and the toilet, expression empty as usual.

 

“Don’t bother screaming if he gets you,” He’s uncuffed and then shoved through the doorway into the little room. “One of those men was my brother-in-law, you’re fucked.” He slams the cell grate behind him, it makes the room slightly darker.

 

He listens to them walk away, he turns his head to look around the room briefly before taking a step over to the bed and sitting down on it. He pushes himself back to rest against the wall, feet hanging off the edge. His trial wasn’t for another month, but he didn’t care if he got out or not. He was a prisoner before, this was no different.

 

“I killed a bunch of guards.” He says quietly to the young man sitting on the floor, expectedly there is no reply given. “They deserved it.”

 

A murmur comes from the young man nearby, Dennis blinks in surprise and looks to him, finding him in the same place not having moved an inch. For a moment he thinks he imagined it, but then the dark eyes of his cellmate scroll slowly over to meet his own.

 

“What?” He asks hesitantly, scooting to the edge of the mattress and leaning his elbows on his knees.

 

“The Lord our God.” He whispers, Dennis quirks an eyebrow at him. “He is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.” He says, voice a gentle croak as he returns his eyes to the same distant spot as before, Dennis lets out a quiet disbelieving scoff.

 

“Right.” He shakes his head, rubbing his hands together and sighing. “You’ll be out of here soon, Henry’s going to take the plea deal like a fucking asshole.” He grumbles, pulling his feet up onto the bed to lock his arms around his knees.

 

The young man doesn’t offer any reply, is back to being a stone statue. The only signs of him actually being alive is the quiet sounds of him breathing, and the occasional blink. Dennis allows himself the relief of knowing that at least his cellmate wasn’t a violate inmate that had it out for him. It was the only relief he could have at the moment.

 

-

 

He’s taken down to lunch with the rest of his cell block, his cellmate included. He feels tense as he walks into the cafeteria, memories of gunning down a man in here still vivid. The inmates are grinning as he passes, muttering under their breaths as he’s given a plate of disgusting food and sent away. The guards are glaring at him from nearby, and he gives it a good day before they start really setting in on the violence and aggravated conflicts.

 

Dennis lets out a quiet yelp when he’s grabbed by the arm and yanked down into a seat at a table full of men. The one that grabbed him wraps an arm around him, he smells rank and his hair is long and stringy, teeth yellowed and slightly crooked. Most noteworthy though, is the skull tattoo on his neck.

 

“Aren’t you a pretty sight?” The man grins at him, the others laughing quietly. “I’ll be seeing you in the showers.” He tells him with a quick pat to the face, mouth opening to continue speaking when a shadow falls over his face.

 

The table falls quiet, the inmates appearing almost nervous as they peer up at the person who has approached. Dennis turns his head, expecting a guard, only to find the kid standing at the end of the table with his tray. His expression is as usual, blank, as he scans the people at the table. Finally, he lands on Dennis, blinking slowly before stepping back and tilting his head.

 

“Go on, get the fuck out of here and take the Reaper with you.” The man who had grabbed him mutters, looking pissed off and uncomfortable.

 

Dennis gets to his feet and follows the tall young man to an empty table, watching him sit down. He takes a moment before following suit, sitting across from him and setting his tray down. He observes as the man goes about his usual routine, taking a fork and pushing some corn out of one of the holders.

 

“You don’t have to push the food out, they won’t make you eat it.” He says, the young man pauses and looks up at him, staring for a long moment. “I’ll take your fruit if you don’t want it.” He says, gesturing to the two feeble slices of peach in one of the little square spaces.

 

It takes a moment for him to start moving again. Like a sloth he moves carefully and slow, separating his sandwich and dropping the slice of bologna on the table. He pushes his tray towards Dennis, folding his bread and biting into it. He looks sickly, and not for the first time Dennis wonders what kind of hell this guy had been through.

 

“You should probably eat something other than bread, you could make yourself like sick or some shit.” He mutters as the other finishes his first slice of bread, chewing his last mouthful as he stares at Dennis.

 

He gains once again, no reply, and despite the feeling of talking to a brick wall, he doesn’t let up. He talks at the kid, who while not replying, is obviously listening. He might be mentally stunted or something, severely traumatized possibly, that didn’t mean he didn’t deserve to have someone to talk to. Everyone needed a friend, and the least Dennis could do now with his fucked up life is be nice to the guy.

 

-

 

The first night, Dennis wonders what the others do in their cells with only one bed considering they were all double booked in solitary. When it comes to lights out, Dennis watches as the young man folds his large frame up into that small space between the dirty toilet and the bed on the cold floor and tucks his chin against his knees.

 

“We could take turns sleeping in the bed.” He offers, but the other doesn’t move or even look at him. “You really gonna make me feel guilty for sleeping?” He questions jokingly, startling when the young man suddenly gets up.

 

He sits quietly while the kid walks two paces to the other end of the cell near the door and sits down there. The statement, while silent, is extremely obvious. He doesn’t want to be bothered, and Dennis was bothering him. He reclines on the bed, angling his body and head so that he can see his cellmate. He sits quietly as the rest of the lights go out, plunging them into almost full darkness.

 

It takes him hours to fall asleep, but the last time he opens his eyes, he's almost positive the young man before him is still blinking into the dark.

 

-

 

A few days after his arrival, Dennis wakes in the night from a dream of blood and gunshots. He pulls in a sharp breath and blinks his eyes open, finding himself facing the wall behind the bed. He turns his head, barely able to muffle a startled shout when he finds his cellmate looming over the bed at his full height.

 

“Jesus Christ, what are you doing?” He mumbles, still partially asleep.

 

He can’t see the young man’s face, just the dark silhouette, and it’s that much more unnerving. He scares the inmates somehow, anyone that dares fuck with him suddenly stops before they can do him any harm and most of the time they have strange accidents shortly afterwards. Not to mention how not a single guard even really looked at Dennis like he was anything but a prisoner when he was near the young man. It was almost like they couldn’t see him at all sometimes.

 

It was spooky, to say the least, but he hadn’t hurt or threatened Dennis in the slightest.

 

“You're afraid.” It’s the first words he’s heard him say since the first day he got there.

 

“I had a nightmare.” He admits, sitting up and kicking the blankets back to cross his legs at the head of the bed. He wipes at his eyes and ruffles his hair, looking up at the concealed face before him. “Don’t you sleep?” He questions.

 

The young man turns and sinks down to the floor between the bed and the toilet. He didn’t always stay there, sometimes he sat across the room. If he didn’t know any better, it seemed like the guy was afraid of Dennis, which was ridiculous. Dennis was half of his size, and despite the young man being skinny and frail looking he was definitely more menacing than Dennis could ever hope to be. Yet somehow, in sharing a small cubicle of space for hours upon hours together, they hadn’t even touched.

 

“You’re gonna get out of here, and you can eat all the Wonder Bread you want and sit somewhere that doesn’t stink like piss.” He says as he leans back against the graffiti covered wall behind him.

 

There’s only quiet that returns to him, and he expected nothing more.

 

-

 

Dennis feels almost honored one afternoon when they’re sitting in their cell and the kid starts to nod off. It’s gradual at first, eyelids drooping as the young man twitches and shifts a bit more than usual. But then he pulls a long leg to his chest, resting his chin against his knee and blinking a few times as if trying to stay awake.

 

He watches the struggle from the bunk, having been reading an old book that he had on loan from the shitty prison library. There’s a restlessness to him that isn’t normally present when he’s alert, fingers shifting and shoulders rolling occasionally. After a while, he seems right on the edge of knocking out, eyes shutting at longer intervals.

 

“Hey.” He winces when the young man startles, a jerk of his head and his eyes blinking wide open. “Take the bunk, sleep for a bit.” He says, sliding off the bed and patting the spring filled mattress.

 

His cellmate stares at him warily, looking almost uncomfortable as he slides his other knee to his chest. How such a tall and lanky creature can make himself look so small is beyond Dennis, but he feels a strange protectiveness over him. He pats the bed again, reaching a hand out and pulling it back when the young man knocks his head against the wall in an attempt to move back away from it.

 

“It’s okay, no touching, I got the message.” He says, then points to the bed. “I know it’s not much but it’s better than sleeping with your head against a prison toilet.” He explains, the kid turns his head to look at the toilet with a small frown, Dennis smirks.

 

Slowly, the kid climbs from his spot on the floor and onto the bunk. He looks more than uncomfortable as he reclines onto his back, and ends up on his side curled against the wall. Dennis takes his book off the foot of the bed and sinks down onto the floor in the middle of the cell, sighing quietly as he opens it again. The kid was weird, but honestly, Dennis had seen weirder.

 

After all, he lived in Castle Rock.

 

-

 

“What’s your name?” Dennis asks, it feels stupid to do so, but he was so curious. Maybe the Warden had taken him as a baby and never gave him one, or maybe he traumatized the guy so bad he forgot it.

 

Either way, the young man just looks at him as usual. He thinks about the few times they’ve spoken, how he seemed partial to the Bible. He wondered how much of it he could recite from memory as easily as he did on the rare occasion.

 

“Do you have a name?” He tilts his head, the man mirrors the action, frowning at him slightly. “I’m Dennis, not sure if you knew that.” He says this and feels almost embarrassed that he hadn’t mentioned it before. “Dennis Zalewski.”

 

“Dennis.” The kid repeats him funnily enough, and he can’t help but smile.

 

“Yeah, you got it.” He grins, the young man adjusts his position so he’s sitting cross-legged, just like Dennis is. “So I’m Dennis, what’s your name?” He questions.

 

He gains no reply on that one, so he tries a different approach.

 

“Well I have to call you something, if you don’t have a name then I could give you one.” He explains casually with a small shrug as he gets up off the floor. He lays across the bunk with his head resting on the lumpy pillow not far from where the kid is sitting. “You like the Bible, right?” He asks, there’s a barely there nod that follows.

 

“God’s word.” He says quietly, Dennis hums and slips a hand behind his head.

 

“Okay, so let’s give you a name from the Bible.” He tells the other, who turns his head to look at him. “I don’t know a lot of Biblical names, so bear with me.” He says with a small smirk, reaching up with his other hand to rub at his mouth thoughtfully. “There’s David, like David and Goliath.” He lists.

 

“David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him.” The words sound strange coming from the young man’s mouth, like every word he spoke was nothing but the truth. “But there was no sword in the hand of David.” He turns back to look at the cell door, shaking his head slowly.

 

“Maybe not David, you don’t really look like a David anyway.” He dismisses, wracking his brain to think of another Bible story he heard as a kid. He hadn’t been to church in a while, maybe that’s how he ended up here. But then again, the kid was obviously a devout believer and he was in here beside Dennis so maybe it didn’t matter.

 

There was Jonah and the Whale, but that was a stupid story and the kid didn’t look like a Jonah anyway. He sits there for a few moments, trying to think back to his days as a good little church going schoolboy. Those days were long past, and the stories had faded from memory mostly. He didn’t find comfort in them anymore the way he used to, not seeing the evil of the world every day like he did.

 

“What’s your favorite story from the Bible?” He asks, because it seemed the only real way to connect with this guy was through the old book. Warden Lacy was a devout Christian himself, and he supposed spending a lot of time with the dude might cause significant character traits and beliefs to rub off.

 

The young man looks at him, eyes narrowing slightly as if pondering this himself. He wonders just how his head worked, if this was all damage from Warden Lacy and being in the cage or if he was just destined to be a strange guy. Either way, he was an interesting character, despite his often silent and still personality.

 

“And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.” He says softly, Dennis frowns at him and then his eyes widen.

 

“The ark! Noah’s ark!” He smiles, and for a brief moment, the young man’s lips quirk slightly. “We’ll call you Noah, then.” He tells him decidedly.

 

The other offers no objections or agreements, just huddles up against the wall in his little corner and sighs quietly. Dennis turns his eyes to the cell ceiling, letting himself drift in his thoughts. It’s peaceful, despite the voices outside their cell and the distant sounds of gate alarms buzzing as they’re opened and closed. He feels at ease in that moment, like he’d gotten through to the young man in some sort of way.

 

A haziness fills him, something strange but comforting and warm. When he shifts his gaze over, the kid is looking at him with an odd expression. It seemed the more he spent time with him, the more emotions he could pinpoint on the pale lines of his face. This one is new, soft and unsure, Dennis smiles at him tiredly.

 

“You look like a Noah.” He murmurs, his eyes growing so heavy that he falls asleep almost immediately afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( I really hope you guys liked this short fic, if you did please leave a comment and tell me! If it does well enough, I'll definitely continue it because it was fun writing. I might have some more serious scenes later, and maybe even them getting out of prison! 
> 
> Also I'd like to say that I really like the concept of The Kid having a name from the Bible but I'm not holding out on that being true. When thinking on what I was going to call him, or what Dennis was going to call him, I decided against Nick. The first name that came to mind was Noah, and I feel it fits him. But that's just me! )


	2. Nothing To Be Afraid Of

Dennis’s trial gets pushed back, and the new warden is giving Henry the runaround, so his stoic cellmate remains in place. He gets attached unfortunately, can’t help himself considering this was practically his only friend now. He had killed his other friends, and now he didn’t even have a wife. She had moved back in with her parents, he’d be lucky if his child looked him up when they turned eighteen.

 

He falls into a steady routine, living from day to day on repeat. It’s a little maddening, it feels like years have passed doing the same thing over and over again. The only thing that changes is the conversations between himself and his cellmate. Even those are starting to run thin, they didn't have much to talk about outside of Dennis's past and what the walls of their cell looked like.

 

The young man, or Noah, as Dennis had taken to calling him, talks a little more over time. He’s not nearly a conversationalist, but if Dennis rephrases a question and pries long enough he’ll usually get an answer. He doesn’t do much, but sometimes just out of pure boredom, Dennis gets him to recite Bible passages. He knows a lot, Dennis wouldn’t be surprised if he knew the whole Bible word for word.

 

When yard time comes around, Dennis stands against the chain link fence with Noah at his side. The young man doesn’t like the sun, and usually stands with his head down and his eyes closed. It’s almost sad to watch him, the way he squints around blindly when they’re outside. Although over time he adjusts to the brightness, he still keeps his head down and his eyes shut. Dennis stays beside him throughout and talks until he has nothing else to talk about.

 

Other than that, the only thing they really do is eat in the mess hall and shower every other day. Everything is pretty boring, and he finds that anything out of the norm only brought trouble.

 

One morning, Dennis finds himself in a bit of a situation, one that he’s not too sure how it happened. It’s during shower time that it occurs, bathing with shitty soap and cold water for a limited amount of time. Noah, as usual, stands next to him looking uncomfortable under the spray. He doesn’t wash himself very well, Dennis is starting to think the young man was never taught how to take care of himself at all.

 

The one guard in the vicinity steps off at the call of another, and Dennis startles when a body slams into him. He lets out a choking breath when his chest hits the faucet, scrambling for purchase on the water slick tiles. He turns his head and finds one of the newer prisoners behind him, a wicked grin on his face.

 

Dennis is no idiot, despite what some might think, and he knows exactly what’s to transpire in the next minute or so. He squeezes his eyes shut and prepares for pain, but suddenly the weight against him is gone.

 

“Get the fuck back!” His attacker snarls, there's a scuffle.

 

He hears a shout, then the muted thud of a body hitting the damp tiles. When he opens his eyes and turns around, Noah stands over the man’s body. There’s blood dripping down onto Noah’s chin and lips from his nose, and the man beneath him is convulsing violently. Dennis gapes for a long moment, watching Noah stare down at the man with an almost unnoticeable frown on his face.

 

“Hey,” He snaps quietly when he hears the guard’s footsteps returning. He reaches out and takes Noah by the arm, pulling him back to the shower stall beside him. He pushes Noah under the spray and the young man flinches as the water hits his face, washing off the evidence of blood.

 

“What the fuck?” The guard says upon entering, storming over to the prisoner’s still twitching body. Vomit had begun to spill from his lips, his eyes twisting violently behind half-shut lids. Nobody says a word, too afraid of repercussions, and they get away unscathed.

 

Dennis doesn’t talk to Noah until after they return to their cell, redressed and clean. He steps in first, and Noah follows him, having to duck his head to even get inside. Dennis drops down onto the bunk as the cell door shuts, watching Noah sit down on the far side of the room at the corner of the cell door and the wall.

 

“What’d you do to him?” He asks, the questions he’d had since the beginning starting to come to a boil. Noah had some sort of power, the ability to maim people without ever laying a hand on them.

 

The young man doesn’t answer him, just tucks his arms beneath his knees and ducks his face out of view. Dennis feels like he’s losing his mind, but this guy was not normal and he wouldn’t accept anything otherwise. He stands up and closes the space between them, crouching down in front of Noah.

 

“Did you hit him?” He asks, trying to piece together the puzzle. Noah shakes his head and presses his face against his thighs, trying to hide. “He hit you.” He remembers the blood spilling from Noah’s nose, although he didn’t see the hit.

 

Noah mumbles something, it’s muffled from the way he’s trying to hide. Dennis reaches out and touches the young man’s arm, he flinches violently, and his arm swings out to smack the smaller man in the chest. Dennis loses balance and lands on his ass, watching as Noah stares at him in horror. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen him look so human, so raw and scared.

 

“I’m not mad if you hurt him.” He says quietly, Noah shakes his head and curls into a ball.

 

He starts to whisper under his breath, something that sounds vaguely biblical. Dennis strains to hear it but it’s barely audible, he turns his head and looks around for a moment, trying to think of what to do. He spots the book he’s been reading on the bed, and he reaches out to grab it.

 

Dennis gets to his knees and shuffles closer to Noah, sitting down beside him with their backs against the wall. Noah is turned slightly against the cell door, one hand clinging to the grate as if his life depended on it. Dennis opens his book, glancing over at Noah one more time, and starts to read out loud.

 

After a few seconds, Noah falls quiet, turning his head slightly to look at Dennis as he reads. He doesn’t falter at the sight in his peripheral, just continues his narration calmly. The reading seems to intrigue him, whereas Noah had never shown much interest in Dennis’s books before. He shifts slightly and cranes his neck carefully, looking over Dennis’s shoulder down at the pages.

 

He reads for an hour, until Noah’s body isn’t so tense and the air around them isn’t charged with uncertainty. Eventually, he ends a chapter and turns his head to find Noah staring at him. He has his arm on his knee, and his chin resting on that arm, listening intently. Dennis smiles at him reassuringly, and Noah’s expression twists into something of a perplexed nature.

 

“You okay?” Dennis questions, Noah’s arm shifts around and reaches out.

 

His fingers brush Dennis’s bare arm hesitantly, he can see how badly his hand shakes as he does so. Noah watches his hand with a frown, as if confused, then he places his palm on Dennis’s arm. Dennis watches him quietly, not sure what the hell was going on. But Noah had never touched him before, the young man had made sure of that.

 

“Nothing to be afraid of.” Dennis tells him with a small smirk, Noah’s lips twitch up on one side in a faint smile.

 

“More.” Noah pulls his hand away, curling his arms between his stomach and his raised thighs before resting his cheek on his knee. Dennis’s smirk turns into a grin, amused at the sudden demand.

 

“All right.” He agrees quietly, then looks down at the book and turns the page.

 

-

 

It’s extremely difficult to get Noah to eat anything other than bread, but honestly it’s concerning to watch him practically starve himself on the days that the cafeteria doesn’t serve sandwiches. He decides first that he needs to get as much good stuff into him as possible, so he starts with something simple, milk.

 

They get a little carton of it with breakfast and dinner, nothing special, just regular old milk. When they get to the table, Dennis reaches out and takes Noah’s milk. Noah doesn’t falter, he just gazes around the room quietly as Dennis goes about his business. He opens the carton and moves Noah’s tray, setting the milk in front of him.

 

“Drink that.” He says quietly, watching Noah’s gaze center in on the object in front of him. “It’s just milk, it’s good for you.” Noah looks up at him then, and they engage in a short staring contest.

 

Dennis picks up his own milk carton, opening it and pointing to it for effect. He tips the carton back and takes a sip of milk, setting it down in front of him. Noah continues to stare, Dennis sighs and drops his cheek against his fist.

 

“You can’t just eat bread, you’re going to seriously fuck up your body.” He insists, reaching out and pushing Noah’s milk closer to him. “Milk isn’t even food, it’s a drink, just take a sip.” He urges.

 

Noah’s nose twitches and he blinks, a hand slowly coming up to wrap around the container. He brings the carton to his face, sniffing at the opening and making a face. Dennis picks up his own milk and takes another sip for show, Noah frowns at him.

 

Dennis had noticed that Noah had a strange habit of imitating him. Whether it be the way he sat, the faces he made, or the things he said, Noah would try to mimic him. It was like watching a human learn to be human, it was weird, but it gave Dennis the advantage of knowing how to get his way. Noah brings the milk carton to his lips and tilts it slightly, when he sets it down he’s got a bit of milk on his top lip.

 

“See? It’s good!” He smirks, Noah grabs his tray and slowly pulls it in front of him. He opens his mouth and milk leaks from his lips and dribbles onto his eggs. “You didn’t even swallow it!” He complains as Noah wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

 

“Don’t like milk.” Noah tells him quietly, then pushes his tray aside again.

 

Dennis sighs in defeat, dropping his head down onto the table.

 

-

 

Dennis usually ends up napping by the middle of the day, considering they don’t really do much. If he’s not reading or eating or out in the yard with Noah, he’s got nothing left to do but sleep. It’s not the most interesting solution, but he’s had some weird and vivid dreams since he got put in prison.

 

He doesn’t remember what he’s dreaming about this time, simply because the moment he wakes up he doesn’t have time to commit it to memory. Dennis wakes up to someone shaking him, and finds Noah kneeling next to the bed holding out a bloody palm.

 

“Jesus Christ, what’d you do?” He immediately says as he snaps out of his confused stupor.

 

When he meets Noah’s eyes, he actually looks panicked, staring at Dennis helplessly. He can’t help but be a little stupefied by this reaction, considering all the shit Noah had witnessed. He reaches out and takes the other’s wrist, moving to grab the roll of toilet paper off the toilet tank.

 

“I-It’s fine, it’s just a cut.” He assures, taking some of the tissue and wiping at the blood on the young man’s palm. It’s not deep at all, just seemed to be bleeding a lot. “Here.” He makes a makeshift piece of gauze out of the toilet paper, wrapping it around his palm gently. “See? All better.” He says as he lets go.

 

Noah nods, seeming relieved as he sits back on his heels. He touches the tissue gently, then surprisingly, climbs up onto the bunk beside Dennis.

 

“You want to sleep for a bit?” He hadn’t seen Noah sleep since the night before last, he wasn’t sure if he was sleeping while Dennis was sleeping or if he just didn’t sleep. Dennis gets up, only for Noah to grab his shirt and pull him back. He turns at the waist to look back at the young man, who stares up at him beseechingly.

 

“Stay.” He tugs on his shirt again, so Dennis sinks down onto the bunk.

 

“Don’t you want to sleep?” He asks, Noah shakes his head and pulls his gangly limbs up onto the small bunk, his knee brushing Dennis’s thigh. He had been a little less hesitant to touch lately, it made Dennis feel like he was making a lot more progress than before.

 

“Read.” He points to the book nearby on the floor, leaning back against the wall.

 

“Oh I see how it is.” He laughs, leaning down to scoop up the book. He pushes himself back against the wall next to Noah, their shoulders barely an inch apart. “Where’d we leave off?” He questions, Noah responds with the page number, as he had a much better memory than Dennis.

 

As he starts to read, Noah’s head starts to tip slightly, their shoulders brushing. It’s not long at all before Noah is leaned against him, head bent awkwardly to rest on Dennis’s shoulder. He tries not to pay it too much attention, continuing on in his quiet narrating as Noah slowly falls asleep on him. He’s not sure how he manages it, his neck craned the way it is, but soon enough he’s fast asleep.

 

Dennis frowns down at the book in thought as Noah breathes evenly right next to him. He tips his cheek against the top of Noah’s head, noting that he has soft hair compared to his own, which was coarser. He’s not sure what he’s doing here, what they’re doing, but for now he was going to enjoy it. Because sooner or later it would be over, Noah would be released and Dennis would stay here for the rest of his life.


	3. The Faulty Trial

Noah has nightmares, and something tells Dennis they’re a lot more intense than the ones he has. After a while, he starts to think that maybe that’s why Noah doesn’t sleep very often. He only begins to notice it after they start getting closer, it’s hard not to notice the way he twitches in his sleep.

 

Some days he falls asleep with his head on Dennis’s thigh, curled up in his lap tight so they can both fit on the bed. He doesn’t make any noise, just gets tense and breathes heavier and more distressed-like until Dennis wakes him up. When he’s not having nightmares, he sleeps peacefully, managing to look even younger in his sleep than he already did while awake.

 

He was such a sweet sight, Dennis couldn’t help but brush his fingers through his hair while he slept and admire how nice he looked. He knew he was developing some form of feelings for Noah, and he knew that was such a bad idea. But he couldn’t help himself, who could resist the soft-spoken young man with the angelic features.

 

He wondered how old Noah was often, but Noah never really told him. He’d guess somewhere in his early twenties, but there was no telling to be honest. He liked to guess a lot of things about Noah, who his parents were, if he ever had a house and a bedroom as a kid. He wondered if Noah ever got to be a kid at all.

 

Sometimes he felt like he was Noah’s parent, trying to teach him, correct him. But at the same time, he knew he wasn’t, and he knew Noah was no idiot. It didn’t take him long to get the hang of things and telling him something once usually got through to him. He had tried to tell Noah that sleeping in the same bunk wasn’t too normal for grown men that were just friends. But Noah had dismissed him and implied with a facial expression that told him he didn’t really care. That’s how they ended up sharing the bed on most nights, like tonight, scrunched together on the small mattress and pressed against one another.

 

He’s pulled from his late night thoughts when the young man shifts in his arms, trying to turn over onto his back in his sleep. Dennis wraps an arm around his waist to pull him back into place, keeping him from rolling off the bed entirely. He tucks Noah’s head under his chin, squeezing the back of his neck gently to soothe him.

 

Noah’s lanky arm slides over Dennis’s waist, the young man breathing out a quiet sigh as he settles back down. Dennis curls his fingers in the hair at the nape of the other’s neck, staring into the dark and feeling Noah’s gentle breaths against his chest.

 

He’d miss this, once Noah was out, but he knows that the young man in his arms deserves a bright future outside of a cage or a cell. He might not be normal, he might have powers beyond Dennis’s comprehension, but he was good. He was so good, and loving in his own way, and he couldn’t help but be thankful for having him in his life even for a short amount of time.

 

-

 

Noah gets released on a Monday, and it’s perhaps one of the hardest things Dennis has ever had to go through. Being in a cage is all Noah knows, and they had talked earlier in the morning about it. He had to repeatedly explain to Noah that he was leaving the prison, and he wouldn’t be in the cell anymore. His cellmate had refused the concept and grew rather agitated with Dennis for trying to tell him such upsetting things.

 

He watches from the yard that afternoon, standing against the chain link fence as Henry approaches the front. He walks calmly, and when he spots Dennis, he slows and approaches the fence.

 

“Hey, how you holding up?” Henry seems wary of him, and Dennis can’t blame him. The last time he’d seen Henry he’d shot a man in cold blood right in front of him.

 

“Make sure you take good care of him.” Dennis insists, not mincing words, Henry frowns at him. “We were cellmates,” He explains, and Henry nods as a look of realization comes over him.

 

“When’s your trial?” He asks, Dennis sighs and slips his fingers through the holes in the fence, hanging onto it.

 

“Next week, it doesn’t look good.” He mutters, shaking his head in resignation. “Listen, don’t just leave him out there. He’s still adjusting, and he’s going to be upset that I can’t come with him.” He says quietly.

 

“You two really made friends.” Henry says with mild surprise as he sticks his hands in his pockets, Dennis nods.

 

“He wouldn’t tell me his name, but he likes the story of Noah’s ark. So I call him Noah.” He tells the man, who smiles unsurely.

 

“Noah?” He asks, Dennis hums under his breath.

 

“If he asks for me, just tell him that I have to stay here, and he can only visit.” He insists, Henry hesitates for a moment before the gates nearby open.

 

Henry turns and starts walking, Dennis follows him on the other side of the fence as far as he can go. Noah stands at the opening of the gate, looking around warily before spotting Dennis. He hurries out from the gate and walks straight past Henry, up to the fence.

 

“The other side!” Dennis says weakly with a sad smile, Noah frowns at him. “You be good, okay?”

 

“Come with me.” He demands, Dennis quickly shakes his head.

 

“I can’t, I’m in a lot of trouble. I’ll be lucky to get out of here before I die.” He explains, Noah’s face contorts into one of frustration and distress.

 

“I’ll stay!” His eyebrows are scrunched together, lips pursed in a small pout.

 

“You won’t, you can visit me like Henry visited you, remember?” He says with a small nod. “The phone, we can talk through the glass on the phone.” He assures, Noah shakes his head angrily.

 

“Ahem…” Henry clears his throat as he approaches, smiling at Noah when he looks to the man. “I’m going to drive you to get checked out, make sure everything’s on the up and up.” He explains.

 

“Go with Henry.” Dennis says, placing his hand against the fence. “You’ll be okay, you’re free now.” He nods reassuringly, flinching slightly when Noah reaches up and touches his hand through the fence. The CO in charge across the yard blows his whistle, signaling that it was time to go back inside.

 

“Don’t go!” Noah begs, Dennis links their fingers clumsily through the fence.

 

“It’ll be okay, I promise.” He lets go, turning away and heading back towards the doors. He can feel fear and loneliness creeping up into his throat when he nears the building. He turns back to see Noah slowly walking away with Henry, his head turned to watch Dennis. “You’ll be okay.”

 

“Inside, asshole!” A guard slams his foot into the back of Dennis’s knee, knocking him down. He scrambles to his feet, getting shoved once more before he’s in the door.

 

-

 

The next week is perhaps the roughest of his life. It’s like the little bubble that he and Noah created has popped and the world has come flooding in. The guards start cracking down on him, and within a few days he has bruises and welts from nightsticks. Within a day he’s lost his visitation privileges and gets stuck in the hole for another day.

 

There, he experiences what he supposes Noah had gone through for God knows how long. The only sounds from outside are distant and faint, and the loudest ones are his breathing and the pumping of blood in his ears. He sits in the dark and hours pass like days, it’s maddening, and he can’t help but wonder how his counterpart went through what was most likely years of the same thing.

 

Alone… Unseeing, cold, nothing to do but sit and think and breathe.

 

 

The inmates aren’t too bad compared to the corrections officers, but they don’t hesitate to fuck with him either. He gets his tray knocked out of his hands on his first morning out of the hole. In the showers, he is on the unfortunate end of some intense ass groping. He was lucky that was all, but it was only a matter of time before it progressed into something else. He was a small guy, not tough at all, and his only means of protection was gone.

 

He wasn’t sure how Noah could be seen as protection, but he knew the guy had some sort of abilities. His absence is a gaping hole in Dennis, not just safety wise but sanity wise. He finds himself reading aloud some evenings, to the thin air, wishing that there was a warm head on his shoulder or a body to scrunch up on the bunk with.

 

By the time his court case has arrived, he’s present with a black eye and a busted lip. He’s mostly distracted by the case, but at one point he turns his head and spots Henry and Noah in the back on his side of the onlookers. He can’t help but wave, and Noah raises a careful hand in return.

 

They pull in a few witnesses, all of whom try to nail Dennis for what he did, none in the slightest showing regret by doing so. He knows he should feel bad, he should regret the things he’s done, but he doesn’t. Maybe that makes him a monster, or maybe he’s just a sane person surrounded by monsters, he isn’t sure. He stays quiet and subdued until it’s his turn on the stand, slowly getting up and limping his way over.

 

His lawyer is kind, tries to make it as easy as possible on him. She paints him as a misunderstood and distressed young man, someone who was cracking under the pressure of Castle Rock. He has to admit, it sounds lame even to his ears, and the jury doesn’t seem too convinced either.

 

“Dennis, do you regret what you did?” She asks him, and he knows the answer immediately. But that’s not what they went over, so he puts on his most honest and sullen face.

 

“Yes, I do.” He nods his head.

 

He answers the rest of the questions respectfully, and then it’s the prosecutor’s turn to grill him. He’s a skinny older man, not much height to him, with a sharp nose and small glasses. He touches his slowly receding hairline as he approaches, sighing as he stops in place.

 

“Mr. Zalewski, I’m not quite sure I understand.” He says with a small shake of his head. “If you regret what you’ve done so much, then why didn’t you stop after the first shot?” He questions.

 

“I-I don’t know, I don’t really remember the thought occurring to me until after I was apprehended.” He explains quietly into the microphone.

 

“You didn’t regret what you did until after you got caught, is that correct?” He asks, propping bony fingers on his hips.

 

“It had nothing to do with that.” Dennis shakes his head, nervously twisting his hands together. “I knew I’d be caught.” He insists.

 

“So you thought about this beforehand then? You did it knowing it was wrong.” He says with a nod of his head.

 

“N-No, you’re… You’re twisting my fucking words around.” He shifts in his chair; the judge gives him a glare.

 

“Watch your mouth, Mr. Zalewski.” He warns, Dennis nods his head.

 

“Right, sorry, your honor.” He apologizes, ducking his head.

 

“Mr. Zalewski, why did you suddenly decide to murder eight innocent corrections officers?” He questions.

 

“Those people were not innocent.” He says, earning a panicked look from his lawyer. “I watched them do horrible things every day on those monitors.” He says firmly.

 

“If they were so bad then why do you regret doing what you did?” He asks, Dennis grits his teeth.

 

“Because it wasn’t my job to decide that, the Lord, our God can only judge people in the end.” He says, and looks across the courtroom, meeting Noah’s eyes. The words just come to him, it’s bullshit, but it sounds good. It sounds like something Noah might say.

 

“And yet you did, you pulled a gun on those people and you shot them in cold blood.” He says in return, Dennis shakes his head once more.

 

“I felt trapped, I didn’t know what else to do. I don’t even remember most of it!” He says, raising his voice slightly. Tears start to gather in his eyes, the jury is looking at him like he’s the scum of the Earth and it’s like he can feel the steel bars closing behind him. “I hear their screams at night, I will never sleep properly again, isn’t that enough?”

 

“Neither will their families, Mr. Zalewski. Their children, their wives and husbands!” He waves a hand, everyone in the courtroom begins to murmur quietly and Dennis can feel himself cracking under it all as the judge bangs his gavel loudly.

 

“I’m sorry!” Dennis whimpers quietly, and for once he feels it.

 

“That’s enough counselor!” The judge snaps, Dennis ducks his head and presses a hand to his face. As the courtroom starts to fall quiet, the judge sighs. “Excuse me, please take your seat.” He says, and for a moment Dennis thinks he’s talking to him.

 

He stands up, then realizes that Noah is standing in the middle of the aisle in between the tables. He has his fists clenched, his eyes burning with anger, and Dennis swallows thickly. He shakes his head when Noah meets his eyes, pleading with him silently not to try and interfere. Henry is up, trying to get the young man to sit, but he continues to stand in place.

 

“Leave him alone!” He snaps at the prosecutor, teeth bared in a scowl.

 

“Young man, take your seat or I will have you escorted out!” The judge insists angrily, Noah looks from the prosecutor, to the judge, and then over to the jury.

 

“He’s a good man.” He says, voice just audible enough to hear above the murmurs of the court.

 

“Remove this man!” The judge insists, Dennis grimaces as Henry grabs Noah by the arm, causing the young man to flinch and try to pull away. Henry takes a firm hold on Noah and apologizes, tugging him from the courtroom. He watches them disappear through the doors, which slide shut after they’re gone.

 

“Your honor, I-I’d like to re-request…” Dennis turns his head, finding the prosecutor bleeding from his nose and tear ducts, looking dazed. “A recess.” He says weakly as the room is filled with gasps of shock.

 

“Someone call an ambulance!” Someone calls out just as the man collapses to the floor.

 

-

 

A few days later, they are brought back in for the decision. The prosecutor is noticeably missing, he had passed away from a sudden brain aneurysm. Dennis knew it was Noah that had done it, there was no way it wasn’t him. But he was scared to admit it to himself, to know that Noah had that power and would use it to protect Dennis without fearing repercussions. He couldn't handle that kind of secret, that sort of power, for fear of becoming more corrupt than he already is.

 

Dennis is escorted into the courtroom once more, although this time around, Noah isn’t present, but Henry is. He’s worried, but a little too busy being nervous for his own problems at the moment. Noah might be able to drop a few people dead but that wouldn’t stop Dennis from going to prison.

 

“Will the defendant please rise?” The judge asks, Dennis slowly gets to his feet. In that moment, he feels like a condemned man walking up to his executioner’s chair. They couldn’t kill him though, Maine didn’t have the death penalty, and for some reason he only found that worse. “How does the jury find the defendant?” He says, and one of the jury members stand up with a piece of paper in her hands.

 

This was it, back to the endless prison of torment. The void of violence and evil, at the center of an evil town. He would be stuck there for the rest of his days, whether that be next month or in a few years. He doubted he’d make it that long, after getting a taste of prison without Noah at his side. It would be a few months before a corrections officer beat him to death, or a prisoner who didn’t like him took a sharpened toothbrush to his stomach.

 

“We the jury, find the defendant to be not guilty of all charges.” Dennis blinks, frowning as the courtroom breaks out into automatic chaos. People are shouting, a few women on the prosecutor’s side burst into tears.

 

“Order! Order in this courtroom!” The judge insists loudly, slamming his gavel down.

 

“You son of a bitch!” A man on the other side lunges in Dennis’s direction, he has to stagger back to keep away, hitting the table and tripping over his feet as he struggles to maintain his upright position. He watches with wide eyes as a guard grabs hold of the man coming for him, pulling him back and away from Dennis.

 

“Remove him!” The judge instructs to the guard, who drags Dennis’s would be attacker from the room. He screams and shouts, threatening Dennis’s life in all sorts of uniquely violent ways with many colorful words.

 

He finds himself to be frozen in shock, watching everything go to hell around him. He can still hear the woman’s voice echoing in his head, and he wonders if he heard it right despite it all. How could they find him not guilty, of anything?  

 

He thinks of Noah, and wonders just how much power the young man might have.

 

Dennis turns his head and meets Henry Deaver’s eyes, who looks just as stunned as he feels. It takes a few minutes to regain control, officers removing some disruptive people and the judge shouting until all is quiet once more. The judge seems confused and maybe even pissed, he looks to the jury with a frown.

 

“This was an agreed upon decision?” He questions, the woman nods. “Nobody coerced you into this?” He asks, she shakes her head.

 

“No your honor, we find the defendant not guilty, a unanimous decision.” She says solemnly, and the judge makes a face before looking over at Dennis with a small scowl.

 

“Well then, Dennis Zalewski, as much as it pains me to say it…” He sighs, shaking his head. “You’re free to go.” He tells him, Dennis stares with wide eyes as the man hits his gavel down once more. “Case dismissed.”


	4. Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

The courtroom starts to clear, and Dennis turns as Henry approaches him. He was free, he could leave, no charge on anything. It felt like a dream, like some sort of trick, but everyone was leaving. and no officer had come to take him back. He can’t help but smile when Henry stops in front of him, relieved beyond belief.

 

“How’d you do it?” He asks quietly, Dennis shakes his head.

 

“I dunno, I didn’t do anything.” Henry gives him a dubious look for that, but Dennis has nothing else to offer. “Where’s Noah? I want to see him.” He says immediately, Henry eyes him warily for a moment and then sighs as he seems to mentally let it go for now.

 

“He’s outside with a friend, I didn’t want him losing his mind when you got sentenced to life.” He muttered, and Dennis nods in understanding.

 

He walks out of the courtroom with a feeling of disconnect, the vague sensation that he’s walking on air. Dennis spots Noah sitting on a bench with a blonde woman, but he doesn’t seem to be paying her much attention despite the fact that she’s talking. His eyes almost immediately turn to locate Dennis in the bustle of people leaving, and he stands.

 

Noah looks strange out in public, but he definitely sticks out in a crowd. He’s dressed in a flannel shirt and a loose pair of sweatpants that fit him oddly, the crotch too far down and the pants legs barely reaching his ankles. But there’s the ever present tilt to his shoulders, a slight hunch that makes him look slightly smaller than he really was. He couldn’t believe that such a innocent looking young man could do the things Noah did, and yet he knew him as personally as anyone could at this point.

 

Dennis quickly navigates through the hall, feet picking up the pace as he nears his friend. Noah takes a few hurried steps towards him before they collide, and surprisingly Dennis’s feet leave the ground briefly during the hug. When he’s set down, Noah reaches out and touches the fading bruise on Dennis’s eye with a small frown.

 

“What did you do, man?” Dennis asks, voice trembling with relief.

 

“You’re innocent.” He insists, taking Dennis’s face into his hands in a way he never has before. His hands are big and cold, shaking slightly. “A good man.” He says firmly, eyes burning with intensity.

 

“I think you’re probably the only one who’s ever going to think that.” He presses his hands to Noah’s wrists and pulls them down off his cheeks. He holds them briefly, but then quickly remembers that they’re in public and it probably looks strange before letting go.

 

“What happened?” The blonde woman he’s seen around before, he thinks her name is Jackie, questions.

 

“Not guilty of all charges.” Henry says as he approaches from behind, Jackie blinks at Dennis in shock.

 

“What the fuck?” She asks with a laugh of disbelief.

 

“Tell me about it.” He says distractedly, watching the jury exit the room. None of them even look at him as they pass, not like the civilians had.

 

Dennis ignores Noah’s hand taking a fistful of the shoulder of his old blazer, obviously trying to keep a firm hold on his old cellmate. He was crowding him rather intensely as well, hunched over slightly with his chest pressed to Dennis’s arm and practically breathing against his ear despite the intense height difference. He wondered where Noah had been staying since his release, he didn’t look as pale, but he seems just as thin and sickly as before.

 

“You okay?” He asks with a turn of his head; Noah’s big dark eyes bore into him as he nods his head slowly. “I missed you, big guy.” He says fondly, Noah’s expression softens slightly and his grip on Dennis’s blazer lessens.

 

“You’re going to have some unhappy townspeople on your ass, Dennis.” Henry tells him quietly as they leave the court house. Dennis places a hand on the small of Noah’s back to steer him down the steps. He’s got long legs, but he moves slowly, carefully, still reminding Dennis of a sloth.

 

“Where are you staying?” Dennis questions as they reach the bottom of the front steps, turning to Noah to look up at him.

 

“We’ve been keeping him at a friend’s warehouse, then I brought him to my mother’s place to stay in a workshop next to the house.” Henry says, still glancing around anxiously as if expecting an attacker to come rushing up to them.

 

“You wanna stay with me, Noah?” He asks, Noah quickly nods his head. 

 

“People have already trashed your old place.” Jackie says to him, Dennis blinks at her in mild shock.

 

“Seriously?” He asks in disbelief, she nods her head.

 

“Got wrecked a few days after you um…” She averts her eyes, and Dennis watches Henry do the same.

 

“Right.” He mutters. “Well I should go back and check it out anyway.” He says, reaching out and brushing a hand over Noah’s arm. “You gonna come with me to protect me?” He asks, almost jokingly. He felt like Noah’s protector in a way, despite the other’s unsuspecting abilities.

 

“Yes.” Noah nods his head sincerely, and Dennis feels an overwhelming sense of gratefulness for such a loyal person to be by his side.

 

“All right, anyone willing to give us a ride?” He looks between Henry and Jackie, the former looking like he’s trying to think of a good excuse.

 

“I’ll do it.” Jackie volunteers, a sly smile on her face. “Hanging with a serial murderer, what could get better than that?” She questions, Dennis ducks his head in a mix of shame and discomfort. “Big scary pale guy, and small not so scary pale guy, follow me.” She says with a wave of her hand.

 

Dennis tries to let Noah sit in the front, so he can have proper leg room, but the long-limbed man crawls into the back next to him. He figures he must be some sort of security blanket at this point, something familiar to Noah that makes him feel safe. The thought went both ways, because just having Noah near him again puts him more at ease than he’s felt all week. The idea that it might just be being released from prison is simply a wishful concept in his mind, mostly because he was starting to accept how much Noah meant to him at this point.

 

“You sure about that, man?” Jackie looks back at Noah, noting the way his long legs are scrunched up against the seat in front of him. When he doesn’t answer, she shrugs, then starts up the car. “Suit yourself.”

 

The car ride is mostly full of Jackie trying to talk to them, either about the town or the things that Dennis missed during his time inside. It seemed like the town was going to hell, but it tended to happen on occasion, Castle Rock felt cursed in some way. Dennis ends up watching the town pass through the window, lost in his thoughts and wondering if he should have been released. He recalls what he told Henry, about how bad people knew they could get away with things and that’s why they did the things they did.

 

Dennis hadn’t known he’d get away with what he did, he expected to get shot down or rot away in a prison cell. Well, he hadn't really thought that far ahead he supposes, but he wasn't thinking about the future, that was for sure. Part of him regretted what he done, and the rest of him feels like it was the only option in the moment. Maybe he had broken somehow, his brain just snapped, and he would never be quite sure what was right or wrong ever again.

 

“Dennis.” He turns his head, finding Noah staring at him.

 

“Yeah?” He tries for a smile, it probably looks more like a grimace. Noah doesn’t reply though, reaches down between them and places his hand atop Noah’s, engulfing the smaller man’s hand in his own palm. He feels himself relax slightly, and he twists his wrist over to clasp their hands together. “Thanks.” He murmurs.

 

“So you two like… A thing?” Jackie’s voice draws his eyes away from their hands, up to the rearview mirror where he can see one of her eyes on him.

 

“Uh, n-no.” He says awkwardly, guilt flooding him as he looks over at Noah. But he doesn’t seem to be paying them any attention, watching the world pass by out the window. “We’re close.” He adds, and Jackie nods her head, but there’s a smugness about her silence that he doesn’t quite like.

 

When they pull up to the house, Dennis spots bright red spray paint along the front door. They get out and Dennis leads the way, observing trash strung out along his lawn and even a mannequin stuck on a wooden spike with ‘MURDERER’ written on the dummy’s chest. He steels himself as he approaches his front door, reaching under the mat to locate the spare key. The door creaks open once he gets it unlocked, and he steps inside.

 

The place is a mess, someone had obviously broken in and things are trashed perhaps even worse than outside. Dennis finds himself standing frozen in awe, assaulted by memories of himself and his wife having moved in after the death of his uncle. This was supposed to be their home, their baby’s home, and he had ruined it.

 

He uses the toe of his dress shoe to push at a table that had been knocked on its side, moving it out of the way of his path. He makes his way into the middle of the living room, where a picture of himself and his wife was sitting in its shattered picture frame on the carpet. He crouches down and picks it up, attempting to remember what he had been like before all this, before he had taken that stupid fucking job.

 

“You’re sad.” Noah’s soft voice doesn’t startle him, but it draws his eyes away from the picture frame in his hands.

 

“Yeah.” He murmurs, slowly rising to his feet and allowing the frame to drop back down onto the ground.

 

“You miss her.” He had once told Noah of his wife, how beautiful and kind she had always been with him.

 

“I miss how we used to be.” He says and earns a perplexed expression from the other.

 

“That’s the same thing.” Noah says quietly, with his usual solemn certainty, and Dennis shakes his head with a sad smile.

 

“No, not really.” He mutters.

 

“So you can talk!” They both startle, turning to look at Jackie where she stands at the door. “I mean yeah I’ve heard you say one word before, but I was starting to think you had brain damage or something.” She explains with a wave of her hand, stepping inside. “Damn, they really fucked this place up…” She sighs.

 

“Thanks for the ride, but I think we got it from here.” Dennis says, watching her pick up a baby book that had been haphazardly thrown to the floor.

 

“You can’t stay here.” Jackie says casually.

 

“Why not?” He snaps, growing a little irritated with the woman.

 

“Because you’re sitting ducks here,” She gestures at the room around them. “I give it a few hours before you have a bunch of people at your doorstep with pitchforks and torches.” She shakes her head.

 

“Well…” Dennis starts sharply, then sighs, realizing that she was right. People would be angry, they would want justice, and the townspeople of Castle Rock were nothing if not impatient and bloodthirsty on many occasions. “Fuck.” He reaches up and rubs at his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

 

“You can stay where Lurch has been staying, my boss owns the warehouse he’s been staying in.” She tells him, and Dennis turns his head, realizing that Noah had disappeared.

 

“Noah, where’d you go?” He calls out, heading towards the hall. Not having the large man in his sight made him nervous, because despite knowing Noah could handle himself, it didn’t mean he wanted the young man to put his abilities to the test on anyone.

 

He makes his way through the house, though there isn’t much to it. Eventually, he finds himself stopping in front of the door to the backyard. The window on the door is broken, but he can see Noah standing outside near some broken yarn ornaments and staring out into the trees. He opens the door and steps outside, approaching him warily while trying to see just what he seems to be looking at.

 

“You all right, big guy?” He calls out, grimacing silently when the young man doesn’t turn to look at him. He continues forward, stopping at Noah’s side and observing the trees momentarily before turning to look up at him. He looks sad, mournful almost. “Hey…” He brushes his fingers against the flannel sleeve of the other man, who jerks slightly before sidestepping to get out of his reach.

 

“I don’t want to do it.” He murmurs, Dennis tilts his head.

 

“Do what, man?” He asks, Noah turns his head to look at the smaller man.

 

“Hurt people.” He says, eyes soulful and sincere. “I don’t want to, it just happens.” His face contorts slightly, and for a moment it looks like he might cry, eyes shining slightly before he blinks and steels his expression once more into something more sullen than anything else.

 

“You can’t control it?” He questions, curious, and Noah’s uneven shoulders rise up slightly before his eyebrows furrow together, as if he’s not quite sure of the answer himself. “Maybe it’s just your bad thoughts that make it happen?” He asks, Noah slowly shakes his head.

 

“I never thought bad things about you.” The words don’t quite make sense to him, and then his blood runs cold.

 

“You… You made me do it?” He asks, taking a step back from the other, who doesn’t even try to reach for him.

 

“I should have stayed in the cage.” Noah says, sure of himself as he nods his head once.

 

“Wait, hold the fuck up. You made me kill those people?” He snaps, angry and frustrated.

 

“I saw it happen, in here.” He touches a long finger to his temple, then turns his hand out to point at Dennis's head. “It came from in there, I tried to warn you…”

 

“Warn me?!” Dennis demands loudly, clenching his fists. “You didn’t say anything to me!” He storms forward, pushing the other roughly, who staggers back a step.

 

“I showed you, I warned you…” Noah insists, almost angry himself. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” He quotes, and then looks almost beset. “I saw your temptation, I knew what you would do and I tried to stop you, but the devil is much stronger than anyone can understand!” He insists, it’s the most he’s ever heard Noah speak but his blood is boiling so hot he can’t even think.

 

“The Devil?” Dennis asks, incredulously. “You’re a fucking lunatic!” He says shrilly, and Noah shakes his head.

 

“I tried to fix it, you’re a good man!” He storms forward and grabs Dennis roughly, the two struggling for a moment before Noah gets ahold of his shirt in one hand and presses the other to the side of his face. “In here, you are not corrupt like the others.” He says firmly, eyes boring holes into Dennis’s.

 

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Dennis grunts, trying to push Noah off and wincing when his grip tightens.

 

“He coerces and corrupts all, being near him is like being poisoned. His tongue is that of a serpent, he does not make you act, he makes acting seem reasonable.” He hisses, he looks like a madman then, and for the first time since he can remember, Dennis is afraid of Noah. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour!” He snarls, then releases Dennis and sends him falling onto his ass.

 

He stares up at Noah with wide eyes, shocked into silence as he looms ominously. His eyes are dark, his expression morphing from furious to solemn once more. He steps back once, then twice, just as Jackie comes out of the house and begins to approach.

 

“What’s going on?” Jackie asks, looking to Dennis with mild concern. “You okay?” She offers a hand to Dennis, who takes it and stands up.

 

“Fine.” He says shortly, not taking his eyes off of Noah. The young man looks uncomfortable, arms hanging stiffly at his sides and hands still balled into tight fists. He seems almost nervous, like he expects Jackie and Dennis to tear into him, but Dennis can’t get his words out of his head.

 

He conveyed statements that seemed to insinuate that Noah himself was kin to the devil, if not Lucifer himself somehow. Part of him wondered if that was true, as the devil was supposed to take many forms, quite a few of those conveying innocence. But somehow, he can’t wrap his mind around it. Not when Noah looks so scared, not when the young man had yelled and done whatever he could to run Dennis off.

 

Noah didn’t know for certain he was the devil, but he thought himself evil somehow, a corrupting presence. No evil being could fear being evil, that just wasn’t how it worked. Maybe Warden Lacy had told him that, convinced him he was pure evil and all he could ever do was hurt someone. Even if Noah had made Dennis act on his wildest thoughts, they were still his thoughts, his actions. He didn’t have to do what he did, he had made that choice.

 

Noah wasn’t at fault for what Dennis had done, he couldn’t blame him for that.

 

“What am I gonna do with you, big guy?” He says weakly, stepping forward hesitantly and reaching out a hand. Noah gives him a wary look, but after a moment, puts his own hand out and settles it in Dennis’s palm. “Come on, let’s pack whatever shit we can find and head out.”

 

He pulls Noah back inside, leaving a confused Jackie behind. They end up in the bedroom, where things have been considerably trashed. He notes that a lot of the dresser drawers have been cleaned out of his wife’s things, but some of his stuff is still there. He digs into the closet and finds a duffel bag, pulling it out and starting to shove whatever clothes he can find in there.

 

“You don’t hate me?” It’s the first time he’s heard Noah sound so unsure, like he can’t quite understand it.

 

“You didn’t kill those people, I did. And even if you somehow had a hand in it, it doesn’t matter anyway, I’m not in prison.” He mutters, wanting to drop the subject already. If he dwelled on it, he would just get angry again, and he didn’t want to yell at Noah.

 

“I hurt people.” Noah says, like a pouting child, and Dennis shakes his head.

 

“You just said you didn’t want to, that’s good enough for me.” He mutters.

 

“You’re a fool, then. God will not be so forgiving.” He snaps churlishly, and Dennis rolls his eyes, jamming a pair of socks into the duffel bag and turning to face the other.

 

“Warden Lacy must have been one of those crazy fucking old people who didn’t realize the entire point of Christianity was forgiveness.” He says pointedly with a raise of his eyebrows. “The whole point is that we’re human so we’re going to do fucked up shit, and God will forgive us if we show remorse!” He insists, Noah shakes his head and glares at the carpet.

 

“The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” He recites perfectly and without pause, all words spoken with disgust. “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” He adds on, sinking down onto the bed and ducking his head, hiding behind ever-lengthening hair.

 

"I'm a murderer, Noah, so am I going to hell?" He snarls, and it shuts him up, he doesn't reply.

 

Dennis stares at him for a quiet moment, and then approaches slowly. He sinks down onto one knee in front of the other, looking up at him through the curtain of his bangs. He rests a gentle hand on Noah’s knee, a firm reassurance that he felt no fear anymore, wouldn’t ever be afraid of this young man ever again.

 

“Did Warden Lacy tell you that you were going to hell?” He asks softly, Noah’s mouth trembles slightly and his eyes scroll to the side, unable to meet Dennis’s. “He told you that you were evil, didn’t he?” He asks sharply, and Noah simply nods. “You’re not evil, Noah.” He insists.

 

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Noah says, and it’s the first thing that has registered in Dennis’s mind. What a twisted thing it was, to make such a scared young man fear being himself, fear himself, in such strange ways.

 

“Preaching at me isn’t going to change my mind, big guy.” He mutters, reaching up and batting gently at a lock of hair hanging between them from Noah’s head. “Stop moping, all right? You’re stuck with me.”

 

Noah doesn’t respond, and he most definitely does not stop moping.

 


	5. Disruption

Jackie brings them back to the warehouse, which turned out to be the realty headquarters for Molly Strand. She lets them in and Noah hovers quietly while Jackie gives him the rundown of the place. They end up upstairs in the empty loft, where there’s an air mattress with a single pillow and a blanket. The walls are covered in big windows, and he finds himself losing himself in the view of the town beyond while Jackie talks.

 

Back at the house he had been so angry, and he finds it strange that he can’t even muster an ounce of anger towards Noah. It was as if it had been sucked out of him or pushed deep down, replaced with only an intense calm. He could tell Noah was a little on edge, had sat bunched up against the window and as far away from Dennis as possible. He seemed to still be moping, he seemed more pensive than usual.

 

He wonders if the emotions he felt were Noah’s doing, and although that should unsettle him, he’s far too at ease to be concerned. Being with Noah felt right, they would figure this out somehow. Whether it be helping Noah learn to control his abilities or figuring out how to cope with them, he was committed to it.

 

He spots a bunch of window panes and shelves gathered into a strange shape and approaches carefully. It reminds him of the cage, and Dennis looks back to where Noah is standing near the window, gazing off into the distance. He won’t let anyone hurt Noah, not again, he knows that for sure. He would do anything to keep him out of a cage.

 

“Anyways, that happened in like the eighties… But yeah, so I’ll bring by another blanket and some pillows but I don’t think I have any spare mattresses.” She says with a small shrug, Dennis nods absently with his eyes hovering on Noah a long moment before focusing over on the woman. “But I’m sure we could move the mattress from your old place to over here if we had a big enough car.”

 

“It’s fine, thank you. We shared a cell with a single cot, we can manage for now.” He explains, and the woman nods, a look of realization on her face. There was that same smugness from before, and a hint of a smile as she sighs.

 

“Well, I’ll swing by later with some food because I doubt you’d get too far without someone trying to maim you.” She says with a small tilt of her head and an exasperated sigh, she was an odd woman, but Dennis liked her so far.

 

“I’ll pay you.” He offers, remembering the jar of money he had recovered from under a rickety floorboard under the bed that he had been storing for rainy day emergencies. Really, he had been saving up to buy his wife a new ring, but it had been on the backburner for a while. He only had about a thousand dollars, but something told him that his wife had probably cleaned out their bank account when she left. He would have to check to make sure, but he was almost positive.

 

“It’s fine, I got it.” She waves him off, then turns to head to the door. “Make yourselves comfortable!” She calls out as she exits, leaving them alone.

 

Dennis retreats to the air mattress, collapsing down atop it and sighing out as he relaxes into it. He was exhausted, mentally and physically. Despite the fact that this wasn’t the most comfortable of accommodations, he knew that tonight he would most likely sleep better than he had in a while. At least here he wasn’t held in a small confined space, with dangerous people surrounding him.

 

He lifts his head up slightly to look at Noah, who was standing practically across the room watching him. His timid nature was endearing in the same way it was exasperating, he pulls himself up onto his elbows. Noah walks over to the shelf and window pane construction, which he figures must have been created by the young man. How traumatized must he be, to recreate the only home he had known for who knows how long?

 

“You’re not going back there, I don’t want you in a cage.” He says simply, Noah reaches up and touches at one of the shelves with a finger. “Come lay down, man, aren’t you tired?” He asks.

 

He knows of course that Noah never seemed to be tired, it was rare for him to actually rest and it worried Dennis quite a bit. Obviously being in the dark so long might mess up someone’s circadian rhythm but eventually he had to get back into it, didn’t he? He wanted Noah to live a normal life, as normal as he could, to make up for lost time.

 

He watches Noah approach, standing next to the mattress for a long moment before pulling a knee up onto it. He curls up onto the mattress next to Dennis, keeping his limbs to himself as he settles down onto his side facing the other man. Dennis watches him quietly, smiling at him when he stops moving.

 

“First item on the list, a bag of Wonder Bread.” He says jokingly, Noah reaches out and lays an arm on Dennis’s shoulder, rubbing at the fabric of his shirt with his thumb.

 

“I took it.” He murmurs distractedly, eyes focused on his hand but looking miles past it at the same time.

 

“What?” He asks in confusion, blinking innocently at Noah when he meets his gaze.

 

“I don’t want you to go.” He says softly, as if it makes any sense. He seemed to talk a lot more on the outside, not to anyone else really but Dennis. It was strange to hear his voice, but not unpleasant. He has such a gentle tone, something in a higher pitch that Dennis always found surprising to hear.

 

“I’m not going anywhere.” He argues quietly, eyebrows scrunching together.

 

“You already have, just not here.” He replies with a straight face, eyes shining with something akin to sadness. “I’m not safe.” He sits up, and Dennis hurries to mimic him, grabbing onto his arm.

 

“Of course you’re safe, I’m gonna keep you safe.” He assures, Noah shakes his head.

 

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” He says heatedly, then turns his head to look at Dennis with an intense scowl. “I am a plague upon that which is good, can’t you see?” He demands. Dennis wants to roll his eyes, he can't believe they're on this subject again. He's tired of this conversation, tired of hearing him spout biblical nonsense in a way that sounds like he's lost his damn mind. Maybe he has, Dennis couldn't blame him for that.

 

“Stop talking like that, you sound like a lunatic.” Dennis says firmly, but Noah only continues to scowl at him in response. “We’ll figure out how to control your… Powers… And everything will be fine.” He says, reaching out and squeezing Noah’s arm gently.

 

“Why are you so sure?” He questions darkly, staring at him intensely, leaning into Dennis’s space.

 

“Because.” Dennis quips, and Noah’s eyebrow twitches slightly as his expression twists into mild confusion.

 

“Because?” He repeats, and Dennis nods.

 

“Just because.” He says with finality, then drops down onto his back once more, bouncing slightly at the impact. “Now lay down, the only evil here is me not being able to nap.” He jokes.

 

Noah seems even more frustrated with the casual tone he’s taking on and spends a good minute glaring down at him. He figures it's better to just ignore him, because arguing seemed futile at this point. When Dennis doesn’t pay his menacing any attention, Noah slowly pulls his legs back up onto the mattress and lowers himself down next to Dennis. There’s a slack in the mattress, some of the air having escaped already. Their weight causes a dip in it, forcing them into the middle next to each other, shoulders pressed together.

 

“Lighten up, man. We’re both out.” He says quietly as he shuts his eyes.

 

“What happened to taking a nap?” He quips, and Dennis thinks it’s the first time he’s ever heard Noah tease him. He turns his head with a grin, opening an eye to watch the side of the other’s face. He’s staring up at the ceiling, trying to maintain a frown, but there’s a quirk to the corner of his mouth that he can’t seem to hide.

 

“What’d I do to get stuck with such a sour dude like you?” He slides his hand into Noah’s, who tucks his fingers over Dennis’s.

 

“I don’t know.” Noah murmurs, all amusement gone and sounding haunted. Dennis falls quiet after that and focuses on getting some rest over contemplating the warzone that must be Noah’s mind.

 

-

 

Dennis wakes up a few hours later, his face buried against Noah’s chest and the other man’s arm wrapped loosely around him. He had sat there for a bit, drinking in the quiet peacefulness of the moment. The sound of Noah’s gentle breaths, a car’s engine rumbling as it passes by the building, and the wind blowing against a nearby drafty window.

 

He had reached up and rested a hand on Noah’s chest, feeling it rise and fall beneath his palm. He couldn’t explain what had happened earlier, why the rage had drained from him the way it did. But he didn’t want to ask questions right now, he didn’t want to fight, he just wanted to move on.

 

He reaches up a hand and brushes his fingers against the underside of Noah’s jaw, feeling the stubble starting to grow there. Noah’s head jerks suddenly and his hand latches onto Dennis’s wrist in a painful grip that only lasts a few seconds before he seems to realize what’s going on. He lets go of Dennis like he’s been burned and sits up, getting off the air mattress before the other can try to touch him again.

 

“You okay?” He asks, guilt building a pit in his stomach. Noah merely nods and retreats over to the stack of shelves, crawling inside and huddling in a ball.

 

He’s a pitiful sight then, and Dennis can’t quite understand what he’s done wrong. They had been acting like this for a while now, Noah having initiated most of it in the first place. But now he seemed off, unsure, Dennis tried to assure himself that Noah was just adjusting to the outside world, but something more seemed to tax him.

 

“Come on, big guy…” He approaches the strange piece of architecture and crouches down in front of him. “What’s your deal?” He asks, Noah is quiet for a moment as he stares into nothing, before he sighs.

 

“I wanted to go back, before… But now…” He shakes his head, hugging his knees to his chest and ducking his mouth behind his arm.

 

“Back where?” Dennis questions, dropping down onto one knee.

 

“I can’t remember, something’s going to happen, and I can’t remember…” He says, meeting Dennis’s blue eyes with his own big multicolored ones that reminded him of a deer. It was a decent comparison, deer seemed harmless until they stomped the fuck out of you when they got spooked. “I-I’m… Scared.” He confesses, expression confirming these emotions, tugging at Dennis’s heart in the process.

 

“Come here.” He reaches out and tugs on Noah, the man gets the message and sits up on his knees, shuffling closer. He ends up with Noah partially in his lap, his upper half leaned against Dennis’s chest and his face pressed to his shoulder in a strange hug-like embrace. “We’ll figure it out.” He promises, and Noah makes a soft noise before squeezing the smaller man tightly.

 

They sit there like that for a bit, until Dennis’s legs start falling asleep under him. Eventually, they get up and retreat to the bed, where Noah shows more of that familiar easy affection he used to show. They lay on the mattress together, because there isn’t much else to do anyway. Noah combs his fingers through Dennis’s hair, and he finds peace of mind again. Whatever this was, he wasn’t going to let it go anytime soon.

 

-

 

When Jackie returns they all sit on the floor of the loft in a misshapen triangle with takeout containers and bags of groceries spread between them. Jackie had really gone all out, gotten milk, coffee, some snacks and brought them lunch as well. It was sweet, and Dennis felt flattered that she was kind enough to provide food for a cold-blooded murderer such as himself.

 

“I got chocolate syrup because it goes really good on these chips.” She tells him, holding up the bag of chips for him to see. He grimaces internally at the thought of putting chocolate syrup on chips, but forces a smile nonetheless.

 

“You didn’t have to do all this.” He says, not for the first time. Noah goes to get up and Dennis glances at him momentarily before shaking his head in silent exasperation. Of course he wouldn’t want to eat, he never did.

 

“What’s up with him?” Jackie whispers to him after Noah has crossed the room to look out the window silently.

 

“Besides being locked in a cage in a dark water tank for who knows how long?” He replies in a deadpan, and the woman nods her head as if relenting. “You got bread!” He says after a moment of digging through the bags.

 

“Yeah, figured you could both do with some sandwiches. Lurch looks like a skeleton.” She says with a small shrug.

 

“Noah.” They both look up, finding the tall young man turned around facing them. “My name is Noah.”

 

“I thought Molly said you made that up.” Jackie counters, arching an eyebrow at Dennis.

 

“I did, he wouldn’t tell me his name.” He mutters, glancing back to Noah, who is staring at them without an argument to add. “But your name’s Noah if you want it to be.” He allows, and Noah gives him a short nod before skulking over and reaching for the loaf of bread.

 

Dennis quickly pulls it out of his reach, taking hold of Noah’s outstretched wrist before he can escape. He tugs on Noah until he sits down, then grabs one of the empty plastic cups Jackie had brought from downstairs. He pours some milk in it, then takes the chocolate syrup from where it sits next to Jackie. He pours a hefty amount into the cup, then digs through another bag to locate one of the plastic spoons.

 

“Chocolate milk is the bomb.” Jackie says with a smile, stretching out on her side, using her arm to keep her head upright.

 

“I don’t like milk.” Noah tells them firmly, Dennis holds out the cup after it’s been stirred.

 

“It’s chocolate milk, better than milk.” He argues, and then they engage in a short glaring match. “You drink some and I’ll let you have the bread.” He insists, ignoring Jackie’s badly muffled snicker.

 

Noah takes the cup and looks down at it hesitantly, as if he’s never seen chocolate milk before, or he’s expecting it to bite him. He puts the cup to his lips and takes a sip, then lowers it. Dennis can’t help the smile that breaks out over his face when Noah doesn’t spit it out, only licks the droplet of chocolate milk off his top lip.

 

“All right, man, expanding our horizons!” He hands the loaf of bread to Noah, who takes out a piece and promptly starts munching on it. After a couple of bites, he takes another sip of chocolate milk, a proper mouthful that fills Dennis with a sense of relief. There was hope for him yet.

 

“You two are weird.” Jackie states across from them, a playful smirk on her face. “I like weird, though, so it’s cool.” She says with a slow nod.

 

“Thanks, I guess.” Dennis says, picking up a can of soda and popping the tab, smiling to himself at the satisfying hiss that followed.

 

-

 

It doesn’t take long for somebody to figure out where they are, and their short-lived quiet peace is soon interrupted. Three days after Dennis’s release, they wake in the middle of the night to something crashing loudly through the window. Glass shatters into the room, and immediately Dennis and Noah are sitting up. The sound of someone banging on the downstairs door is followed by another window being shattered, Dennis slides off the air mattress and moves to grab their clothes.

 

“Get dressed, we gotta get out of here.” He insists, already sliding his shoes on and mentally planning their escape down the rear fire escape. When he turns around, Noah is standing on the other side of the bed, still as a statue and eyes barely visible in the dark room. “Hurry up, man!” He snaps, grabbing his duffel bag and throwing whatever he can find into it, along with their jar of money.

 

He grabs his jacket and the one he had gotten Jackie to buy for Noah, a big hoodie that actually was a little big on the other man. Dennis didn’t think at the time that was possible, but seeing him slip it on reminded him of the fact despite the panic flooding him. They both jump at the splintering of the door as it’s wrenched open echoes through the loft.

 

“Fuck!” He takes Noah by the hand, grateful that the young man had picked up the pace just enough to slip on his shoes in time.

 

“Zalewski! Knock knock!” A voice calls out from the bottom of the stairs, Dennis unlocks the window at the back of the building and wrenches it open. Feet start to stomp their way up the stairs, Dennis’s hair is standing on end and his heart is galloping in his chest like a pack of wild horses.

 

“Go!” He pushes on Noah, who climbs through the window carefully and onto the metal fire escape.

 

“Not so fast, faggot!” He gets yanked back by the collar of his shirt, tumbling back onto the concrete floor and finding himself at the feet of three men.

 

“Fellas…” He says gently, voice quivering as he starts to sit up.

 

“Who’s this?” One man reaches out of the window and snags Noah by his hoodie sleeve, holding up a big knife as he grins ear to ear.

 

“Leave him out of this, he didn’t do anything!” He snaps as the man hauls Noah back into the room forcefully, the young man stumbling slightly as he’s hurried along. “You can have me, let him go.” He pleads.

 

“This your boyfriend, Zalewski?” Another man, one with a crowbar that he presses to Noah’s cheek threateningly.

 

“Don’t touch me.” Noah says, eyes dark and posture tense.

 

“Or what?” The first man with the knife shoves him, sending him careening into the other man with the crowbar.

 

“Watch where you’re going!” He slams Noah to the floor, the young man wincing as his head knocks against the windowsill. He seems mildly disoriented for a moment, as the third man pushes the barrel of a gun to Dennis’s temple.

 

“You’re gonna pay for what you did, you fucking cunt!” He snarls, filled with quiet rage. Dennis focuses on Noah with watery eyes, watching with trepidation as the tall young man climbs back to his feet unsteadily. The man with the gun looks at Noah, and they lock eyes, intensely glaring at one another. “But first, I think I’m going to kill your pretty boyfriend.” He turns the gun to Noah.

 

“No!” Dennis lurches out and hits the man in the nuts, the gun goes off and it all descends into chaos.

 

Dennis gets knocked in the head by someone’s knee, their foot slamming into his ribs in the process. His ears are ringing, the gun goes off twice more and then he’s being hauled to his feet. A big and familiar hand clasps firmly in his, its twin twisting tightly in his jacket to steer him towards the window again. He looks back and sees blood, reminding him of images of guards on the floor dead as doornails. Two of the three men are dead, and the third one, the one with the gun is nowhere to be seen.

 

“Noah?” He turns his head, can hear sirens as his hearing starts to overcome the shrill aftereffects of the gunshots.

 

He doesn’t earn a reply, the young man’s expression is stoic and his eyes are darting around warily as they climb from the window once more. Noah drops the duffel bag over the edge of the fire escape and Dennis can hear the glass jar of money shatter below but neither of them say anything. Dennis goes down first, and then Noah follows.

 

As soon as his feet are on the ground, he turns his head and finds a body laying on the ground. The man who had the gun, laying on his back with eyes empty and body completely motionless, blood dribbling from the side of his mouth and pooling beneath his head. Dennis wonders if he fell or if Noah made him jump, then asks himself if Noah could do something like that. When he looks back to the fire escape ladder, he can see a stain on Noah’s arm, something dark.

 

“Are you bleeding?” He demands in a panic, Noah grabs the bag and shoves it at him, pushing him to move.

 

“We have to leave.” He says quietly as they walk towards the trees, Dennis stops in his tracks and stares at him in disbelief.

 

“We didn’t do anything, they attacked us!” He insists, Noah turns slowly, looking him up and down.

 

“Who’s going to believe that?” He asks softly, eyes worried and afraid, and Dennis realizes that he’s right. “Robbery gone wrong… One guy fell, the other two argued and shot each other.” He reaches out a hand for Dennis to take. “We have to go.” He says once more, and Dennis sighs.

 

“All right.” He shoulders the duffel bag and takes Noah’s hand, the two of them disappearing into the trees just as the cops pull up to the front of the building.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this new installation, I think this story is coming to a close soon enough. I don't think I'll be heading in a completely different direction from the show considering this was based on my theory of the ending and my theory turned out to be mostly true! 
> 
> I'm thinking about making another story, where The Kid was Ruth's son that was kidnapped when he was really young and then they adopted Henry afterwards and years later they recover him. Would anybody be willing to read that? It would still be Dennis/Kid because I'm a sucker for these two! Leave your comments below!!! )


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